


Shadow of the Sun

by SophieHatter



Category: Stargate SG-1
Genre: Alternate Universe - Teachers, Beach Holidays, Cunnilingus, Explicit Sexual Content, F/M, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Friends to Lovers, Hammocks, Merry Ficmas 2018, Sharing a Bed, Travel, Vaginal Fingering, auralism
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-10-27
Updated: 2018-12-01
Packaged: 2019-08-08 10:47:49
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 20,088
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16427897
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SophieHatter/pseuds/SophieHatter
Summary: When Sam is awarded Colorado Science Teacher of the Year her prize is a trip for two to Vanuatu. Unable to face the idea of a romantic holiday on her own, she decides to spend the summer at home.An impromptu lunch with two collegaues leads to an intriguing suggestion. Coach and gym teacher Jack O’Neill has a current passport and nothing to do over the summer. Surely two mature adults can enjoy the trip as friends, even if it was intended for couples?





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [SlytherinSweetheart1](https://archiveofourown.org/users/SlytherinSweetheart1/gifts).



> For a wonderful friend who encourages and inspires me and who gave me this prompt:
> 
> Travel AU, fake dating, “Are you sure this is even legal?”

[ ](https://www.flickr.com/photos/33259455@N03/32797210788/)

Sam was standing on a chair when he entered the classroom, arms stretched above her, reaching for the top of the poster tacked to the wall. For a moment, he took her in, jeans snug around her waist and rear, cami top pulled up by her stance, just showing a hint of creamy skin at her waist. Today, her long blonde hair was pulled back in a twist, but the work of packing up her room had let wisps escape to trail along her neck.

Shuffling his feet, Jack tried to draw her attention, concerned that he might startle her right off the chair. As she turned towards him, he grinned. “Hey. Good to see I’m not the only one taking my time packing up.” He held a hand out to her, meaning to offer support as she stepped down, instead she handed him the poster and turned again to the wall.

“Thanks. I had to go out of town over the weekend and didn’t get back until last night. I left right after school on Friday and now I feel like I’m behind.”

“Nah,” Jack told her. “I’m still here. I saw Daniel this morning, too.”

“Well, Daniel has about ten times more stuff than me to pack up. I don’t know how he gets it all in his car.” She handed Jack another poster and reached for a third.

“Multiple trips,” Jack spilled his colleague’s secrets, “And sometimes my truck.”

“Aha!” Sam chuckled. “Never get on the wrong side of a friend with a truck.”

“Hey,” Jack laughed self effacingly, “I’m a cheap rental. Six pack of beer and me and my truck are yours.”

Resting her palm against the wall, Sam turned to grin at him over her shoulder. “Really? Well if that was all it took, I would’ve bought you a six pack years ago.”

The twinkle in her eyes made Jack’s mouth turn dry. Licking his lips, he tried to figure out if she was flirting with him. As he took the last poster from her, Sam ignored his other hand offered in support and jumped down from the chair, landing neatly. “Nice ...” he murmured, taking in her form.

“What?” She wondered, gathering the posters into a pile, and then glancing at him.

“Nice landing,” he told her, trying to keep his eyes above shoulder level. “Good form,” Jack tried to explain. “I know, because I teach gym.” He knew he was babbling, but couldn’t make his mouth stop.

“State gymnastics team,” Sam told him, “All the way through college. I was a little bit tall but my power was an asset on the vault.” Rolling up the posters, Sam wrapped a rubber band around them and carried them over to a box that already held bundles of rolled up paper and posters.

Jack watched her all the way and then stammered for something to say, “I thought you must have some kind of athletics background. I was thinking track and field.”

“Not dance?” Sam wondered, turning back to him and noticing that his eyes weren’t staying above shoulder level when her back was turned.

“As you said, power. Not that dancers aren’t powerful, just they wear it differently. But I can see,” and he gestured to her figure, “Shoulders and thighs. You’re a bit tall for pole vault, got the legs for long jump, though.” Realising that he’d just thoroughly critiqued her body shape, he blushed. “Ah, well, y’know. Being in to sports and stuff, I see these things. Sometimes.” For a moment, Jack contemplated fleeing, if only he could think of a graceful way to do so.

Watching him squirm filled Sam with amusement. “Pretty good,” she told him. “I also did long jump and triple jump in high school but focused on gymnastics in college.”

Jack’s embarrassment eased up and he shoved his hands in his pockets. “So vault. Any other apparatus?”

“You tell me,” Sam replied, giving him permission to look again.

He took his time, wanting to get this right, trying to prove that he had been looking because he knew physique and not because she was very attractive. Sam leant on a desk as Jack looked her over, hands braced on the edge.

“Not bars. And I’m guessing you’d be ok at floor but I think ... beam.” Finished with his analysis, Jack returned to Sam’s face. Her eyes were fixed on him, the rest of her face expressionless, Jack felt his heart beat faster and didn’t know if it was from fear or anticipation. Then she nodded.

“You’ve got a good eye,” she told him, “Want to go to lunch?”

“Huh?” He blurted awkwardly.

“Unless you’ve already eaten,” Sam prodded. “We could see if Daniel wants to go, too.”

Ah, right, she meant lunch. As in food and conversation. With colleagues. “Sure. Was heading out when I stopped to lend you a hand.”

Sam reached for her bag and phone and led the way to her classroom door. “What do you want to get? Maybe I should buy you a beer as thanks for your help.”

“I barely helped,” Jack said.

“Ah yes, but how am I going to get all those boxes to my car?”

Jack laughed as he followed her down the hall. “Right. A beer will do, then.”

 

* * *

 

They had to forcibly extract Daniel from his room, but once they had him out in the hall he acquiesced to their demands for food. Each grabbing a box, they carried them to Jack’s truck, letting him secure them in the back while they argued about who sat where on the single bench seat. Sam ended up with the middle, by virtue of Daniel buckling in by the window and refusing to move.

She gave Jack an apologetic look as he paused in surprise upon opening his door. “Someone isn’t good at sharing.”

“I like the window, okay,” the floppy haired history teacher complained.

Jack pulled himself up into the driver’s seat, laughing at Daniel’s protests. “Now, kids. Don’t make me turn this truck around.”

“We haven’t even left, yet,” Daniel pointed out.

“All the more reason to behave,” Jack commented as he backed the truck out of the space and then turned out of the teacher’s parking lot.

The good natured squabbling continued all the way to O’Malley’s, the local restaurant popular with the teaching staff. Most days Sam brought her own lunch, but she’d been inside a few times for staff functions and birthdays.

Jack, it seemed, was a regular. As they stepped through the doors, the maître de greeted him by name and showed them to a table without bothering to ask where they would like to sit. He helped Samantha into her chair and then nodded to Jack, “Your usual to drink?” Jack assented and the man turned to Daniel and Sam.

“Same as him,” Daniel said, as did Sam.

Their drinks came quickly and they ordered, Jack giving recommendations for sides. Once that was out of the way, the three teachers settled into discussions of what they were doing for the summer.

Daniel was heading to Greece to spend his summer on an archaeological dig. Having worked this dig over previous summers, he went into great detail about the island, the food and its inhabitants. Funny stories of various encounters with the locals kept them laughing through most of the meal.

They’d started on a second round of beers as Daniel’s anecdotes came to an end and Sam sighed as she leant back in her chair.

“I wish I was coming with you, now,” Sam told Daniel. Her summer was stretching out before her, boring and lonely. The dig sounded like a lot more fun than tending her garden and catching upon her reading.

“But I thought you were going to take that trip?” Daniel asked her.

“What trip?” Jack wondered, sipping his beer.

“I’m not and it doesn’t matter because I’m not going,” Sam answered Daniel and then Jack. It had been weeks since she had made the decision to stay home. It had only been a year since she had ended her engagement and the idea of spending two weeks surrounded by couples was more than she could stand.

Daniel blinked at her, “But you said seeing an eclipse was at the top of your bucket list.”

Sam grimaced at the term, “I don’t have a bucket list and I’m still not going.”

“Not going where?” Jack asked insistently, perturbed at not knowing what the other two were talking about.

“Vanuatu. Sam won Colorado Science Teacher of the Year and the prize is a trip to Vanuatu to see the July eclipse.” Daniel ignored Sam’s hiss as he answered Jack. Again, their behaviour reminded Jack of two siblings.

“Science Teacher of the Year?” Jack’s eyebrows were raised as he turned to Sam. “Ms Carter, why did you not share that with the class?”

After glaring at Daniel, Sam turned to Jack. “It happened at the last September. I think you were still on leave.”

Jack looked puzzled for a moment. “Oh, right. The NHL coaching development camp. I missed the first three weeks of the year.” Jack leaned on his forearms, looking at her. “So why aren’t you going to see the eclipse? I’d be there with bells on if I had the chance.”

Tilting her head, Sam looked surprised. Daniel cut across her thoughts, “Jack has a telescope on his roof. I hear he even uses it for more than spying on the neighbours.”

Sam raised an eyebrow to Jack, “Not just a pretty face.” She wondered why she hadn’t paid more attention to him before. Jack did have a pretty face and he had more than enough going on behind his deep brown eyes to pique her interest.

Shrugging, Jack replied, “Don’t let it get around. It’ll ruin my jock image.”

That made her laugh and Sam relaxed in her seat again. Fingering her napkin, she lowered her gaze and finally answered the question. “The trip ... it’s a couples getaway with the eclipse part tacked on. I, uh, don’t have anyone to go with, and I don’t want to be the sad sack who goes alone.” Sam lifted one shoulder in a shrug.

Daniel met Jack’s eyes across the table and inclined his head towards Sam with a suggestive expression. Jack shook his head in denial and made a shushing motion in return.

Not one to ever be easily put off, Daniel said to Sam, “Jack’s not doing anything over the summer. Maybe you guys could go as friends. It’s not like they’ll make you kiss in the airport as proof.”

“Ack! Daniel!” Jack growled at his friend. “You can’t invite me on Sam’s holiday. Besides, didn’t you hear her say that she’s not going?” He felt the heat rising from his chest and he wondered if he looked flushed. Struggling, he tried to turn his mind away from the sudden image of Sam on a beach in a swimsuit and sarong.

Fixing Daniel with a stare, Sam tried to smooth over Jack’s obvious discomfort. “It’s getting close to the confirmation deadline. Anyone going with me would need to get a passport and a visa.”

“Jack has a passport,” Daniel answered for Jack before he could deny it. “He went to Russia two years ago when the minor league did an exchange with a bunch of teams there.”

Sighing, Jack supplied for Sam’s benefit, “I also coach the teen hockey team for the minors. There were exchanges with a few teams arranged that year. Goodwill between young people and all that.”

“Wow. That sounds pretty interesting,” Sam said, latching on to the change of topic. “How long were you in Russia?”

Daniel looked disappointed as Sam and Jack turned the conversation to Russia and hockey. Hockey wasn’t really his thing, so he listened more than he contributed to their chatter, but it gave him space to observe his two friends. Sam was leaning in towards Jack as their conversation got deeper and deeper into the friendly rivalries between local teams. And Jack was laughing far more than he usually did, his eyes lighting up each time.

He’d only been half serious about Jack going with Sam to Vanuatu, but now Daniel wondered if he’d picked up on some undercurrent of attraction between the pair. It had been two years since Jack’s divorce and Sara’s move to London. Jack had been weighed down by the loss of regular contact with Charlie and he needed to let loose a little.

And Sam needed to let loose just as much. None of their friends had been disappointed when she had broken off her engagement to the cop, but Sam had obviously been disappointed in herself. She was always her own worst critic.

When the three teachers realised that they’d been gone for two hours, Jack asked for the check and they all threw their contribution into a pile of notes in the middle of the table.

Back at school, Daniel diverted to his classroom, pondering how he could encourage Sam and Jack to go Vanuatu. Jack accompanied Sam back to her classroom to help with putting her boxes in her car.

It took a little reorganising, but they were able to fit everything in Sam’s silver Volvo. Closing the trunk with a relieved groan, Sam leaned against bumper and Jack joined her.

“I owe you a beer,” she told him.

“Well, I’m here all summer,” he answered. “Maybe you could bring that beer to my place sometime. I grill a mean steak.”

“Huh,” Sam contemplated. “What about getting one in Vanuatu?”

“It’s a long way to go for a beer.” Jack turned his head slightly, assessing Sam out of the corner of his eye.

“They have many beers. And scuba diving, sailing, hiking. And I hear they’re having an eclipse. And that you are interested in astronomy.” Sam turned to look directly at him. “Just friends, no ... obligations,” she offered.

“How long does it take to get a Visa?” Jack wondered.

Sam pursed her lips, “As long as we put the applications in the mail by Friday, we’d have them back in time.”

Pulling out his phone, Jack opened his calendar. “What are the dates? I need to be back here by August 10th.”

“The deal is for two weeks. I can book anything between July 15th and August 15th. Though if we do want to be there for the eclipse, we’ll need to cover July 28th.”

“That would work,” Jack nodded, putting his phone away again. “Are you sure you want to do this? No expectations?”

Sam looked at him for a couple of heartbeats and Jack found himself getting anxious at the idea that she might rescind her offer.

“Yeah,” she finally told him. “Why not? There’s no reason two adults can’t go away together for a break. An educational break,” she added, grinning.

Jack hoped that he was hiding the feeling of relief that washed through him. Relief that was followed by a short skip of excitement. “A break would be really good.”

He smiled and Sam found herself liking the way it made his face crinkle and wished she could get him to smile more often. “How about I come over for that grilled steak and I’ll bring the visa paperwork?”

“Tomorrow?” Jack suggested.

“Tomorrow’s good,” Sam agreed. “Text me your details,” and she pulled a scrap of paper from her pocket and jotted her cell phone number on it. “Let me know if I can bring anything.”

“Like what?” He wondered.

“Ice cream, pie, cake?” Sam fished for a reaction and looked triumphant when she got one on cake. “Cake it is, then.”

“Cake and steak,” Jack agreed, pushing himself off her car and turning back towards the way they’d come. “Well I better ...” and he waved a hand in a vague motion in the direction of the school.

“Sure,” Sam turned towards the driver’s side of her car, opening the door. She hesitated and looked back towards Jack. “Tomorrow. I’m looking forward to that steak.”

“Cake and steak,” Jack said again and then quickly turned away, cringing at the turn of phrase that he had said twice. Getting tongue tied around a woman was a worrying sign. His mouth had made a complete fool of him the first few months he had dated Sara. And now here was another tall, competent and attractive blonde making him trip over his words. Beware of blondes bearing beer, Jack told himself as he headed towards his office.


	2. Chapter 2

By 6.30 the next night, Sam was leaning on the railing of Jack’s deck, sipping a glass of white wine and laughing at one of his hockey anecdotes.

“I swear, that’s why I never made it to the majors,” he told Sam, flipping the steaks over on the grill.

She was still grinning as she asked, “So, when did you decide to become a teacher?”

Jack gave her a sideways glance, his expression sly. “When I was eleven. I’d never been interested in science up until then. But I had a middle school science teacher who introduced us to astronomy and I admired her so much, I knew that was what I wanted to do.”

“So the story about not making it to the majors?” Sam prompted.

“Don’t get me wrong, if I’d been offered a spot on an NHL team I would’ve taken it, but my mom always insisted I had to have a backup in case that didn’t work out. Teaching and coaching was it. Turned out to be good advice, although I resented it a bit, at the time.” Jack pulled the steaks off the grill and then checked the vegetable skewers, removing them as well. With a free hand, he turned off the grill and stood back to let Sam lead the way inside.

Sliding on to a stool at the kitchen counter, Sam resumed the conversation. “Why did it end up being good advice?”

Jack began plating up, adding potato salad to the vegetables and steak. “Because I broke my arm and smashed my knee in practice when I was 16. There are three pins in my forearm and my knee is now a pretty good indicator of changes in the weather.”

Grimacing, Sam nodded. Gymnasts suffered from similarly dramatic and career ending injuries. One girl on her college team had broken her back falling from the uneven bars. “You can still skate, though?”

Setting a plate in front of Sam, Jack came around the counter to sit beside her. “Grubs up,” he prompted before answering. “I could have gone on but if I injured my knee again, that would’ve been the last time I skated. Maybe today, with the advances in orthopaedics, there could have been a better outcome, but 25 years ago, getting pins in my forearm was pretty advanced.”

In her head, Sam did the math on his age a second time. She would never have picked him for forty-something. Jack seemed to guess what she was thinking, because the corner of his mouth curled up as he caught her gawking at him. She gave him an abashed look and started on her steak. “Could they do anything about it, now?”

Jack stretched his leg out and rubbed the knee in question. “I had another surgery a few years ago and they tidied it up. I’ll probably need a third one at some point, but I’ll be on the ice for a while yet.”

“Do you play anywhere?” Sam wondered. A part of her imagined sitting in the stands, rugged up with a hot chocolate in her hands and watching Jack move about on the ice like he was born to it.

As if he were thinking the same thing, Jack ducked his head shyly. “Sometimes. Couple of friends of mine still get together every now and then. But, I could get you in to practice when I’m coaching. If you wanted to come, that is.” He let the fork slide between his fingers, a nervous gesture, Sam surmised.

“That sounds like fun. When are you back on the ice?”

“September,” Jack replied. “Usually a few weeks after the school year begins.”

“Huh,” Sam mused, scraping the last of the potato salad on to her fork.

“What?”

“When you said you had to be back here by August, I just assumed ...” Sam trailed off as Jack looked down at his plate again, but not before she caught a tightness in the set of his mouth. “Sorry. I shouldn’t pry.”

“Nah. It’s not a big secret. I’ll have my son for a month.” Using his fork, Jack pushed the last of the vegetables around his plate. “He lives in London with his mother. I get to see him for a month over the summer and then I go over there for the week after Christmas.”

“London, England?” Sam asked. “Geeez. You must miss him heaps.”

To her surprise, Jack smiled. “I do. He’s ... the most important person in the world to me.” Standing up, Jack crossed the room to a bookcase and took down a photo, bringing it to show Sam. The brown picture frame outlined a sandy haired boy of about ten, his cheesy grin showing two missing teeth. The boy was wearing skates, standing on the ice of a rink, to guess by the background.

“He’s adorable,” Sam remarked. “What’s his name?” If the boy was ten or eleven, then Jack must have started a family late.

“Charlie.” The affection was clear in his voice and in the far away expression Jack wore.

“He looks like you,” Sam tilted her head to study Jack out of the corner of her eye. That softness, the adoration made her heart beat faster. It seemed a rare and precious thing to her - a man who knew what he felt and allowed others to see. Suddenly, it wasn’t a surprise to her that Jack and Daniel were friends. They shared this ability to love and let it show, even if they came from completely different worlds.

“Yeah?” Her observation pleased him. “I took this last summer. He’s grown a lot, getting to that gangly pre-teen stage.” Taking the photo back to the bookshelf, he placed it back carefully, brushing over Charlie’s face with a fingertip before turning back to Sam. She wondered if he even knew he’d made that little gesture of love.

Sam wanted to ask about his ex-wife, why she had moved herself and their son to a different continent, but she didn’t want to spoil the mood of the moment. There was a comfortable intimacy in the room that she wanted to hold on to. “Does Charlie like astronomy?”

“On and off. There’s next to no stars at night in London. When he was out here last summer we spent a lot of time looking through the telescope. It wasn’t until he looked up at another night sky that he realised what he wasn’t seeing back home.” The mention of home, Charlie’s home, made Jack pause for a moment, but he shook it off and went on. “He’d be pretty excited to see an eclipse.”

“Heck, I’m pretty excited to see an eclipse and I’m a card-carrying grown up.”

He tried to suppress his mirth, but it was impossible to keep it from his eyes. “What kind of card is that?” Jack teased.

“Adult member of the American Astronomical Union,” she shot back, reaching for her purse. Sam found her wallet and pulled out the card to show Jack. “There, see! I’m officially grown up.”

Jack had to lean against the counter as he laughed. “Well, at least there’s one grown up going on this trip.”

Bemused, Sam shook her head in mock dismay and returned her purse to the table, pulling out the folder of papers that had been underneath it. “Speaking of the trip, want to take a look at the info?”

“Sure,” Jack turned to the counter, sliding back onto a stool as Sam joined him and spread the glossy brochures out for him to see.

It was a little awkward, at least at first, to read about all the couples activities that the vacation offered. His and hers massages, his and hers spa treatments. His dirt bike adventure, her shopping tour. “Blow that, I’m going dirt biking,” Sam declared.

“Damn right,” Jack agreed. “Can you scuba dive?” He wondered, pulling out a brochure for reef tours.

Sam leaned closer to look at the pictures, “Since I was a teenager. You?”

Shaking his head, Jack leafed through the brochure. “Never been near a coast long enough to learn.”

“There’s cave diving, y’know,” Sam told him as she looked at the back page of the brochure Jack was leafing through. “There. If you do a morning’s training, you can get enough experience to try the reef dive.”

“Alright, then,” Jack agreed, returning to the pile and looking for other interesting activities. “Stand up paddle boards, surfing, sea kayaks, zip line tour ... wow. When do we just get to lie on the beach and chill?”

“Feeling your age?” Sam teased.

“Hey,” Jack laughed, “Respect your elders, Ms Carter!”

Sam rolled her eyes and looked back to the brochures. “You know we don’t have to do stuff together. At all.”

“I know,” Jack replied easily. “But it’d be fun to do a few things together.” As he spoke the words, Jack felt the truth of them. Sam was good company and he would enjoy exploring Vanuatu with her.

Sam obviously felt the same as she agreed, “It would be. I’ve never really ...”

When she stopped, Jack turned towards her on his stool, raising an eyebrow in question.

There was a flush to Sam’s cheeks that hadn’t been there before. “I’ve not gone on vacation with ... friends, before. My dad took us on a few holidays when we were teens, but going as an adult ... I’ve never done that.”

“Well, we can just take it as it comes,” Jack suggested. “Except for the eclipse. No missing that.”

“No,” Sam agreed, a smile replacing her uncertainty. Gathering up the brochures, she slid the visa application form towards Jack. “You just need to get it notarised and then mail it.”

Jack’s fingers brushed hers as he took the paper and Sam felt a long missed thrill as her stomach fluttered. “I’ll,” She stuttered, “I’ll make the bookings tomorrow. You’re happy with those dates?” Busying herself with lining up the brochures, she used the excuse of putting them in her bag to step away.

“All good,” Jack agreed. “I’ll let you know when I get this in the mail.”

“Great!” Sam turned towards him, sliding her bag over her shoulder. “Call me. Or text,” she quickly added. “Whatever suits.” Grimacing internally, Sam tried to keep her demeanour casual while getting out of Jack’s house as soon as she could. “Uh. Thanks for dinner. It was great.”

“You’re welcome,” Jack said, taken by surprise at her sudden departure. He followed after her to the door and watched her get in the silver Volvo. Sam waved and he returned it, closing the door as she pulled into the street.

It wasn’t until he walked back into the kitchen that he remembered the cake that she’d brought. Jack was more than disappointed that he hadn’t got to share it with her.


	3. Chapter 3

The plane touched down and Sam just managed to keep from letting out a loud sigh of relief. She considered herself an experienced air traveller, but the flights she had taken around the US were gentle jogs compared to the marathon they had just endured. From Denver, to LA, then Brisbane (which she’d only seen from the plane and the airport windows) and then, finally, at 10 pm local time, they touched down in Port Vila. It was an exquisite kind of torture to travel for thirty hours with someone you barely knew.

Jack was an affable travel companion, to be sure. He was good natured, even after his knee started to seize up on the long leg from LA. There was a strange intimacy, however, about long plane travel. Whoever you were sitting next to, friend or stranger, you learnt an awful lot about in those 16 hours. What they like to eat, how often they have to go to the bathroom or walk the aisle to settle restlessness, if they read or play games on the console or watch movies. What they look like asleep, if closing one’s eyes while riding in an economy seat could be called sleeping.

He didn’t like to be late, she’d learned. Not that she was late, but he was earlier than her, pulling up out front of her house fifteen minutes early. The only way to drink coffee, according to Jack, was with cream and he always took his scotch neat. Custard was for losers, but Jello (called jelly in the Southern Hemisphere) was tolerable. Intriguing to her was his attitude to travel - he packed light but was prepared. A second hand paper back was stuffed in his backpack along with a tidy shower kit and a light sweater of fine and surprisingly soft wool that was good as a garment, pillow, or light blanket. She’d napped on it while waiting for their flight in Brisbane and half an hour ago she’d awoken to find he’d laid it over her shoulder and chest while she slept against the window.

Their flight to Port Vila had them sharing a pair of seats and Jack had allowed her the window so she could nap. Most of their flight had been over water and there was little to see. But the flight attendants had woken them in time to prepare for landing and had dimmed the cabin lights on approach. The little lights of the islands twinkled below them as they descended and both she and Jack had been captivated, so much so that she hadn’t even noticed his hand on her shoulder or his face next to hers as they looked out the window and whispered in quiet awe.

When the plane touched down, they became aware of the closeness of the other as Jack’s hand involuntarily gripped Sam’s shoulder in reaction to the soft bounce of their first contact with Vanuatu. He covered by reaching for his backpack but Sam still heard the softly voiced apology as he brushed her arm and drew away.

Sam watched Jack fold his sweater and zip it inside his bag. “Shower and then bed,” she declared. “I can’t wait to stretch out.”

Jack gave her a knowing smile. “Is it tomorrow or yesterday? I’m too tired to work it out again.”

“The day after tomorrow,” Sam told him, “I think.”

“How can it be two days later?” Jack grumbled. “I’ve been shortchanged a whole day.”

“A day we spent in the air,” Sam pointed out.

“Oh, right. That was airline travel,” Jack replied, getting to his feet as the seatbelt light turned off, “It only felt like purgatory.” There were titters from the passengers around him, many of whom they recognised from the long LA to Brisbane flight.

Finding herself grinning, Sam got her own bag repacked now that Jack had made room for her by standing up. “I thought purgatory was only for those in a questionable state of grace,” she asked him quietly, as they waited in the aisle.

Jack turned his head, raising an eyebrow to her as he looked over his shoulder. “Are you saying I’m a sinner or a saint, Sam?”

Pretending to consider his question, she pursued her lips. “Hmmm. Guess I’ll have a good chance to figure that out over the next two weeks.”

“Ah,” he agreed. “But which one do you hope I will be?”

Sam didn’t get a chance to answer as the queue began to move and she had to dodge a fellow passenger reaching for his bag. She pondered the question as they crossed the tarmac and then waited for their luggage. This was a purely platonic vacation, so why was she wondering if Jack O’Neill was a sinner or a saint between the sheets?

 

* * *

 

A taxi took them to the ferry and then on to the island. When Sam stumbled on the jetty, Jack shouldered her backpack and cupped her elbow to steady her on the wooden boards. At the reception counter, she suddenly panicked that she had left her backpack behind.

Jack brushed his fingers on her forearm and gave her an amused smile. “Got it here. It’s ok,” he told Sam, turning so she could glimpse her bag slung beside his own.

Ducking her head, Sam laughed at herself. “Thanks. At least I didn’t leave you behind somewhere.”

“No chance,” he told her, accepting both of their room cards and the map to their villa. Leading the way out of reception he murmured, “You desperately need some sleep.”

“I won’t argue with that, but I slept so much on the plane.”

“Bah. There’s no such thing as restful sleeping on a plane. There’s just passing the time with your eyes shut.”

Sam couldn’t argue with that. Smothering a yawn, she let Jack open the door, the entryway softly illuminated in anticipation of their arrival. Jack continued on to the bedrooms as she paused to look out the balcony attached to the living room. This late at night, their side of the island was dark and the moon shone over the water. Drawn by the enchanting light and the gentle breeze, Sam found herself leaning against the balcony rail, surrounded on three sides by softly lapping water, the starry night sky a bright veil spread above her.

“Wow.” Jack stopped in the doorway, his softly spoken word of wonder announcing his presence.

“Something else, isn’t it?” Sam asked without turning around.

There were slow footsteps on the balcony decking and then he was leaning on the railing, too. “It’s a pity,” he commented.

“A pity?” Sam turned and looked at him.

“They’ve given us the wrong villa,” Jack elaborated.

“Wrong? What?” Maybe it was her exhaustion, but she couldn’t figure out what Jack meant.

Turning so he still leant on the balcony, Jack motioned back inside. “There’s only one bed.”

Sam groaned. She just wanted a shower and somewhere to sleep. The thought of trekking back to reception and sorting out the room mixup was too much.

“Don’t worry,” Jack told her. “I know you just need to sleep. The couch is big enough. I can crash there tonight and then we can sort it out in the morning when we’re both feeling human again.”

It would have been the right thing to get it sorted now but her weariness wore down all propriety. “If you don’t mind,” she ventured, “I just want a shower and a comfortable horizontal surface. Heck, I don’t mind the couch, but I just can’t face dealing with anyone else tonight.”

“I thought so,” Jack smiled. “Go shower. I’ll steal the best pillows while you’re distracted and make myself a blanket fort. As long as I can stretch out, I could sleep anywhere right now.”

“Blanket fort,” she repeated, clearly amused. “Now I’m getting jealous.”

“Nope, can’t have it. I called the couch and the blanket fort, first.” It had the effect he’d hoped for and Sam relaxed, turning to head inside.

“Let’s sleep in. Then we can sort out rooms after breakfast.”

“Deal,” Jack agreed. “Remember your suitcase,” he prompted as she almost walked past it on her way to the bedroom. With a sheepish groan, Sam doubled back and grasped the bag’s handle, towing it behind her down the hall.

Jack waited, leaning on the railing, until he heard her exclaim.

“Holy Hannah! This bed is huuuuuuge!”

He laughed, knowing she would hear him, and began pulling throw cushions off the couch.


	4. Chapter 4

Despite the perfectly comfortable bed, Sam found herself awake not long after 6 am. As she lay under the sheet, contemplating whether she was truly ready to get up, she did the time conversion. It was 3 pm in Colorado, no wonder her body wanted to be awake.

Slipping out of bed, she padded out of the bedroom and to the bathroom, taking a few moments to wake up while she completed her morning routine. The bathroom was palatial, with a two person shower taking up one wall, a double vanity and a cupboard full of bath towels, beach towels and sarongs. For a moment, Sam thought about changing into her swimmers, just so she could try one out, but her urge to explore their villa won out.

Back in the bedroom, she found that it also opened on to the balcony and fixed the French doors open and stepped outside. In daylight, Sam could see the shallows below, pale turquoise waters with tiny fish darting in and out of the shadows. They held her attention while she wondered what they were and longed for an identification guide. Maybe there was one at reception.

The thought of reception reminded her that she needed to sort out their villa mix-up. Guiltily, she looked in on Jack and saw that he was still fast asleep on the couch, not looking too uncomfortable. Tiptoeing past him, Sam snagged the resort guide and returned to the balcony.

The sway of something hanging between the two sets of doors caught her attention. After a moment’s contemplation, she deduced that it was a hammock, folded and hung out of the way, to protect it from the elements. Searching the balcony ceiling, Sam found a second hook and, standing on tiptoe, managed to put the other loop of the hammock on it. Testing it with her weight on her hands, she then climbed in to it, pleased to find that if she trailed a leg over the side, she could easily set the hammock swinging with a push of her toe on the railing.

Softly swaying, Sam made her way through the guide. Breakfast could be delivered to their villa. The menu included fruit and pastries that would keep so that Jack could have something whenever he woke. After that, Sam decided, she would approach reception and try to sort out the bedroom arrangements.

 

* * *

 

On the way back from reception, Sam considered their options. The long and the short of it was that they were stuck with their villa. That meant that she and Jack had to work out a sleeping rotation or, if she were brave enough to suggest it, they could just share the ginormous bed. It was big enough to comfortably sleep three, which meant that there was no need for them to even touch. Maybe if they built a wall of pillows down the centre?

Careful to be quiet, Sam let herself back into their villa, kicking off her flats in the hall. She paused at the living room entrance, where she could see Jack, still asleep, stretched out on the couch. He was a gentleman, that much she had worked out over the past few weeks. There’s no way she’d have agreed to come all this way with the kind of guy who had wandering hands.

If she let herself admit it, he was very attractive. His dark brown hair was speckled with grey, cut short in the slightly spiky way she liked to touch. When her thoughts wandered to running her hands through it, Sam turned and made her way to the bedroom. Jack might be a gentleman, but was she able to behave appropriately in return? Not if she let her thoughts keep heading in that direction.

Putting her morning energy to better use, Sam began to unpack her bags. There was plenty of room in the cupboards and no matter where they ended up sleeping, it would be ridiculous for either of them to spend the next two weeks living out of a suitcase.

Finding a few more items that belonged in the bathroom, Sam padded quietly down the hall and put them away under the sink. As she stepped back out of the bathroom, she let out a sudden squeak and two firm hands grasped her forearms. Looking up, she found herself chest to chest with her travelling partner.

“Morning,” Jack smiled sleepily, his hair mussed in a way that took her thoughts right back to what it would be like running her fingers through it.

“Hey,” was all Sam could think of to say, half-startled and all distracted by his sudden appearance.

Jack’s hands relaxed on her forearms and he stepped back, now that she was in no danger of toppling over from the momentum of their collision.

Still stupefied, Sam greeted him again, “Hey.”

The corner of his mouth quirked upwards, drawing her eyes. Sam noticed his morning stubble and her thoughts turned to wonder at how it might feel against her skin.

“You said that already,” Jack observed, tilting his head until his eyes met hers. “Been up long?”

“Couple of hours,” she answered before realising that she had been openly staring at him. Sam took a step back. “I, uh, went up to reception. And I ordered some breakfast. When you’re ready,” she glanced back at the bathroom, “I can fill you in.”

“Right,” he agreed, still looking bemused. “I’ll just be a couple of minutes.”

“Good.”

“Uh, Sam?” He wondered.

“Hmm?”

“You going to stand there all day or can I actually go in the bathroom?”

“Oh!” Sam scooted out of the doorway and mumbled an apology as she bolted for the bedroom.

‘So, so not cool!’ Sam berated herself as she tried to calm her pulse. ‘It’s the location. The villa is romantic. You’re just getting caught up in it,’ she repeated to herself as she paced the length of the room.

A breeze stirred the curtains and drew her attention outside. At the balcony railing, Sam closed her eyes and let her senses take in all that surrounded her. The soft brush of the breeze, the lapping water, the smell of the ocean and ... something familiar that filled her stomach with warmth. Then she placed it - the smell of Jack’s sweater under her cheek. The smell of Jack.

Opening her eyes, Sam turned to find him staring out over the water, his hand resting on the hammock, making it slowly sway.

“It’s a pity,” Sam told him, repeating his words of the night before.

“What is?” Jack asked, his eyes still fixed at a point out on the water.

“That this place is so beautiful.” Sam moved closer to him, leaning back on the rail. “I’m reluctant to give it up.”

“What happened when you spoke to reception?” He asked, finally turning his gaze on her.

“They’re completely booked out because of the eclipse. They offered to call around for us and see if they could find a two bedroom apartment somewhere in Port Vila, but the whole of Vanuatu seems to be booked out.”

“So we might just have to work out how to share a single bedroom?” Jack wondered, coming to the same conclusion she head on her walk back.

“It’s a huuuuge bed,” Sam offered.

“You can trust me,” Jack told her.

“I know I can,” Sam smiled at him. “But can you trust me?”

That made him laugh out loud. “Oh, Sam. I could only hope to be so fortunate.”

For a moment, Jack’s chocolate brown eyes held hers and she saw there ... something. Something that maybe had seen the looks she gave him in unguarded moments. Something that acknowledged those looks and made it clear that her interest was welcomed and returned.

Her breath hitched and then the moment was over, Jack turned away and went inside. “Did you mention something about food?” He called back to her.

“Uh, yeah. On top of the mini fridge,” she replied. Breathing slowly, Sam tried to quiet her racing heart before following, but even as her pulse slowed, the tension in her abdomen refused to ease. ‘Two weeks,’ Sam reminded herself, ‘No need to do anything hasty. Just go along with the ride and see where things go.’


	5. Chapter 5

While Jack ate breakfast and Sam snacked on fruit, they looked through the guide for something to do for the rest of the day.

“Nothing too strenuous,” Sam said and Jack agreed.

The resort was on a private island, accessible only to resort guests. There was plenty to do and lots to explore right where they were.

“What about snorkelling?” Jack suggested. “Pick up the gear from the recreation kiosk and then just walk along the beach. Sounds low key.”

Sam agreed and so they split off to change.

Jack went into the bathroom to put on board shorts and a tee and then returned to his bag to dig out his only pair of slip on shoes. He was just looking for his key card when Sam stepped into the living room.

Her swimsuit was made for fitness rather than fashion, but that meant nothing to Jack’s libido, which was quite attuned to the sporty look. Against her creamy skin, the navy blue one piece stood out, making sleek lines of her curves all the way to her hips where she had wrapped a sarong. She caught him mid gape and raised an eyebrow.

“Nice,” Jack felt compelled to say. There was no denying that he’d been checking her out. “Do you like to swim?” He turned, finding his keycard under his backpack and slipping it in to his pocket.

“I do,” Sam shared. “My physical therapist recommended it when I had a leg injury in college. I got to like it and it’s good for my shoulders.”

“Shoulders?” Jack wondered, motioning for her to precede him to the door.

Slipping on her flats, Sam explained. “Gymnastics, vaulting. My shoulders took a lot of punishment.”

With her in front of him, Jack looked over her shape and saw that Sam’s shoulders were indeed more muscled than typical compared to her hips. “You had a few injuries?”

“Mostly minor ones. The level of competition in college is fierce, but not so bad as those who are on an Olympic track. I never really felt a need to push myself beyond what I was capable of.” She waited for Jack to shut the door and then they resumed walking, side by side. “But I still get a bit of stiffness and I’ve found keeping my shoulders exercised and the muscles strong prevents those sort of aches and pains.”

Glancing sideways at Jack, she wondered. “What about you? What’s your preferred exercise?”

“Running, I guess, for keeping fit. I can do it mostly anytime, anywhere.”

“There was a running path marked on the resort map,” Sam suggested.

“Saw that,” Jack agreed. “Dunno if I’ll need it, though. We’re spoilt for choice when it comes to ways to burn off energy.”

Pretending to examine the garden beside her, Sam hid a smirk and then the resultant flush at her own thoughts. She gave it a minute, and then asked, “Did you think anymore about scuba diving?”

“I’ll give it a try.”

Jack ducked as a low flying bird zoomed along the path. Sam turned to watch it go and Jack turned to watch Sam. Her eyes were soft and wide, her mouth slightly parted and as she turned back towards him there was unguarded delight in her expression. Meeting his eyes, she tilted her head, questioning.

“That was cool,” he remarked.

“Very,” Sam agreed. “I need to get my hands on a wildlife guide.”

“You like birds? Are you a birdwatcher?”

Sam shook her head. “Not birds specifically. Just all living things. I like places where I’m closer to ...” Lost for words, she gestured at the gardens around them, the trails and plants laid out as if the resort designer had taken the existing environment into account when planning the layout.

“It nurtures the soul,” Jack remarked.

“Yes. That’s it exactly. Y’know, when I first moved to Colorado I hated the winter. I thought it was a time when nature was empty and asleep, hibernating. But now I love it.”

“There’s so much going on under the surface. You just need to stop and see it.”

“Exactly,” Sam agreed. “Did you grow up with snowy winters?”

“Oh, ya betcha,” Jack let his accent slip into something northern and rural.

Sam considered the dialect and the accent. “Montana.”

“Pfft,” Jack said, flicking his fingers in her direction dismissively. “Go east.”

“The Dakotas, Minnesota, Wisconsin?” She settled on a broad answer.

“Warmer. Pick one,” his sideways glance at her was encouraging.

“Shouldn’t that be colder?” Sam laughed, “Minnesota?”

“Is that your final answer?” When she laughed again, Jack nodded. “I go up to Minnesota whenever I can. My grandparents left me their place, it’s out in the lakewoods.”

“Urban or remote?”

“Very remote,” Jack confirmed. “I like it that way.”

 

* * *

 

The recreation kiosk checked out snorkelling gear against their villa account and the guide showed them some of the best places to snorkel on the island. Jack and Sam opted for somewhere a bit further away and likely to be quieter, all the better for their chance to observe the fish and, hopefully, the turtles.

Following the directions brought them to a little beach on the inland side and, as they had hoped, they had the spot to themselves. As Jack pulled off his shirt, he found Sam slathering sunscreen on the back of her legs, giving him a view of her firm behind. He got an even better look when she handed him the bottle and asked for him to do her back.

Returning the favour, Sam smoothed the cream over the skin of his back and he found he liked the feel of her hands. Her touch was confident and firm and Jack found himself shifting under her fingers to guide them to spots still stiff from their flight. The soft, pleased chuckle she gave made his chest warm. “Thank you.”

“Maybe we should hit the spa, tonight,” Sam suggested, taking a last dollop of cream from the bottle before tossing it to land on their piled gear.

“I’ll get you to put on a couple more layers of sunscreen and I’ll be right as rain,” he said.

The compliment pleased her and she stepped close to help him into his gear. Then Sam was leading the way down to the water and they spent nearly an hour making their way around the shallows until Jack indicated he was heading back to shore.

“You don’t need to stop,” Jack told her, once they were free of their snorkels. He paused in the shallows to slide his feet out of the flippers.

“Well,” she replied, “It’s time for a new layer of sunscreen but I think I’m done, anyhow. The flippers really take it out of my calves.”

“Mhmm,” Jack agreed, feeling the burn in his own. He spread her towel out on the sand before doing the same with his own. They were on the edge of the tree cover, mostly in the shade, which was a wise choice given the strength of the midday sun. “I’ll admit that I could probably eat again.”

“Oh good. I thought it was just me. I could really do with a solid meal. Airline meals at strange times have messed up my stomach’s clock.”

“We could dry off a bit and then head back? Is there a dress code for any of the restaurants?”

Sam thought back to the guide she had read this morning. “I think the cafe should be alright. I don’t really feel like the schmancy steak restaurant, anyhow.”

“Steak,” Jack intoned, pleased when his deep, zombie like voice made Sam giggle.

“Dinner,” she suggested.

“Deal.” Jack lay back on his towel, propping himself on his elbows. Sam flopped over on to her stomach, pillowing her head on her arms, face turned towards him.

It was hard not to look and, after their exchange this morning, there was a feeling of mutual consent to let eyes wander. When Jack caught her looking at him looking at her, he impulsively started, “Daniel told me ...” and then paused.

“Oh ho,” Sam teased. “This’ll be good. What did Daniel tell you?”

Jack sucked on his bottom lip, eyes lifting upwards towards the trees as he debated whether to finish his sentence. With a fortifying breath, he said, “Daniel said you weren’t seeing anyone.”

“What else did he say?” Sam wondered, knowing that, when it came to Daniel, there would have been a whole lot more said.

“I don’t want to ...” Jack found himself searching for words again and looked at her in mute appeal.

“Well. I’m guessing the engagement I broke off came up.”

Jack acknowledged the obvious with a tip of his head and a raised eyebrow.

“It was a bad idea. Better to end it before the wedding than after. Alright guy, just ... not the right one.” Sam shrugged. “I’ve been sadly celibate since,” she intoned in a voice of mock woe. “But, really, dating has begun to feel like a waste of time. There are other things that I want to do.”

“Like see an eclipse in Vanuatu?”

“Yup,” Sam agreed.

“But you weren’t going to come,” he pointed out.

Maybe he’d gone too far, her answer taking forever to come.

“I changed my mind,” she offered him, pensive. “Don’t know why, exactly. Maybe I needed a shot of courage.”

Jack stopped to think about that, about what it might be like to be an attractive woman, flying half way around the world. “Coming with someone is like ... having a prop.”

“A prop?” Her eyes were fixed on him, alert, watchful.

“Like ... a cover story. If someone might bother you, you can point at me and say, ‘Hey, Sorry, I’m with my friend, over there.’”

“‘Friend?’” Sam wondered. There was a tease in her tone, but she was taking him seriously.

“Works better if it’s a guy trying to hit on you,” Jack mused. “You can imply I’m your boyfriend without having to declare.”

Her reply was slow and thoughtful. “I hadn’t thought of it like that. Sometimes guys can be ...” Chewing on her bottom lip, she thought carefully about what to say, “Slow to understand that you’re not interested. I get enough of that when I go out.”

“Getting it on vacation would be ... tiresome.”

“Yes,” she agreed, musing over the fact that he got it. That being blonde and fit attracted a lot of exhausting, unwanted attention. Then she remembered what Daniel had told her.

“Danny said,” Sam began, pausing for the groan that elicited. “That you were married a long time.”

“I was.” Jack’s tone was calm and he lay down on his back, hands propping up his head.

Watching, Sam tried to read him for discomfort. “Was it possible your wife received a lot of ‘tiresome’ attention?”

Jack had been expecting a more direct question pertaining to his availability now, or to the reasons for his divorce. Instead, she had invited him to share. “Sara was, is, beautiful. We started dating young and we were together a long time and she just got more attractive with age.” Jack turned his head slightly, looking at Sam. “I think that developed my taste for women who are settled in to themselves,” he told her in an aside, before continuing. “And, yeah. The unwanted attention that she her from guys was tiresome.”

Sam sighed and closed her eyes. “Thank you for coming with me.”

“Even though it’s a total hardship,” he joked, “I’m glad that you asked me.”

With her eyes still closed, Sam smiled.

‘Totally worth it,’ Jack thought.


	6. Chapter 6

With a pact made for just an hour of sleep, Jack and Sam strolled back to their villa trading ‘only when you’re a teacher’ stories. It was 10 pm on Colorado time and they were both determined to synch up with the time in Vanuatu.

“You take the bed,” Sam offered.

“Where will you crash?” Jack wondered, stepping around a lizard sunning itself on the path.

“The hammock,” she grinned.

“Shoot, I lost that one,” Jack bemoaned.

Sam was clearly amused. “Well, I did think it fairer for you to have the bed, given you had the couch, last night.”

His eyes dancing, Jack made a knowing sound. “Of course, you’re just looking out for my welfare.”

“Absolutely,” Sam deadpanned, jogging the last few metres to their front door, inserting her keycard and swinging the door open. “I just need two minutes to ...”

Coming up behind her, Jack let the door swing closed, eyes falling on the gigantic basket on the coffee table. “What’s that?”

“No idea,” Sam replied, walking over to it. The basket was full of fruit and chocolates with a champagne bottle as the centrepiece. “Did you ...?” She looked towards Jack.

Shaking his head, his expression as mystified as her own, he came to a stop on the opposite side of the basket. “Here,” and he reached for a white envelope, their names printed on the front. He gave Sam an enquiring look and she gestured for him to open it.

_“Sam and Jack - Please accept our apologies on the mixup with your villa booking. We hope that these gifts can, in a small way, make up for the inconvenience we have caused._  
_We would also like to invite you to be our guests for an evening at the Salt and Steak Bistro, with our compliments._  
_Yours - the staff and family of Derengie Island Resort.”_

Jack finished reading out the card and looked up at Sam. “Well,” he said.

“Well, indeed,” Sam agreed. “I guess we can really enjoy that steak dinner, tonight.”

Nodding, Jack began examining the basket closely. It was packed with fresh and dried fruits, handmade chocolates, nuts and a pair of champagne flutes to go with the champagne. “Well, this is a good night in,” he observed.

Sam clucked her tongue, “What kind of good night in did you have in mind, Jack O’Neill?”

Looking up at her, his eyebrows waggling humorously, Jack jibed, “Wouldn’t you like to know, Samantha Carter. Our waitress at lunch seemed interested.”

“Yes,” Sam parried straight back, “In me. You’ll have to find somewhere else to stay the night while I seduce her.”

Grabbing a peach from the basket, Jack brought it to his mouth and trailed his tongue suggestively over the skin, keeping his dancing eyes on Sam.

“Ooh, you’re naughty,” she declared, flushing a little and turning towards the bedroom. “I’ll give you some time alone with your peach while I change.”

His hearty laugh followed her into the bedroom, but stopped abruptly as Sam cursed. Jack was on his feet and following her, “Everything ok?”

“I don’t think they really understand that we’re not a couple,” Sam observed.

“What makes you think that?” Jack remarked dryly. “Was it the flower petals sprinkled over the coverlet, or the long stemmed roses that gave you that impression?”

“Or the champagne and chocolates,” Sam muttered.

His eyes fell on the back of Sam’s neck where her hair was tied back in a damp braid. The swimsuit hid nothing of the deep flush that had appeared across her neck and shoulders. Jack would’ve bet anything that her face was the same colour. “Sam? You ok?”

Sam was frozen in place. It was one thing to be teasing each other, playing around with the idea of something more. But for other people to think ... after she had explained why they had booked a two bedroom villa ...

Jack was careful not to touch her, but he did move to stand by her side, turning so that he could see her face. “It’s ok,” he told her, “I’m not allergic to flowers.”

When Sam looked at him, her mouth twitched, as if she couldn’t decide if she wanted to smile or scowl.

“It doesn’t mean anything,” Jack reassured her. “I won’t turn into a raving romantic. Unless you want me to.”

At his last comment, Sam did smile and then she rubbed at her neck, looking away. “Sorry. Just that my ex would,” she gestured at the bed and then back to the living room, “Do stuff like this. In the end, it just made me feel ...”

Jack gave her a moment and then suggested, “Smothered?” He could certainly see how the strong, independent woman before him could feel overwhelmed by repeated over the top gestures like this.

Noting that finishing her thoughts for her was beginning to be a habit of Jack’s, Sam said, “Yes. That and ... we were together for a year before he proposed. It felt like he didn’t really take the time to get to know what I liked.”

“I’m paying attention,” Jack told Sam, reaching for her fingers, squeezing them briefly and then letting go.

Looking back at him again, Sam reminded herself that she had broken things off with her ex and she was here, in Vanuatu, with a man who had already begun to figure out how to engage with her and respect her independence. Jack was not her ex, not by a long shot. “Thanks,” and this time her bright, sunny smile was back. “Now shoo, so I can change.”

“Yes, ma’am,” and Jack bumped her shoulder with his on the way past, making her swat at his rear in reflex.

“Now who’s naughty?” Jack commented loudly as he left the bedroom.

Sam hmmed to herself, feeling her skin flushing for an entirely different reason. As she changed, her mind was on the feel of Jack’s skin under her fingers.


	7. Chapter 7

The alarm on Jack’s watch woke him after the prescribed hour. Pulling up into a sitting position, he scrubbed at his hair and rolled his shoulders. Exercise and sleep had banished most of the stiffness from their flights and a shower would probably take care of the rest.

Before heading to the bathroom, he stepped through the French doors and looked towards Sam. She was still asleep, a sci-fi novel in her hands, one finger marking the page she’d been on when she fell asleep.

Jack allowed himself to admit that he liked her. Liked her sense of humour, the way she smiled with her whole being and the easy way they got along. They had a good instinct for each other, a split second anticipation of what they might do or say. It meant that, despite being only acquaintances for the past few years, the events of the past few weeks were driving them headlong into the possibility of something else.

Reaching out, he brushed his fingers against the fabric of the hammock and then turned to go back inside. Sam could sleep a little longer while he unpacked and showered.

There was yet another gift on the bathroom vanity, placed between the two basins. Sniffing a few of the bath products, Jack liked the frangipani shower gel, but decided that the woody fragrance of sandalwood suited him better.

Under the hot water, suds running down his back, Jack recalled the feeling of Sam’s hands on his skin as she covered him in sunscreen. Gods, her touch had felt good. Too good, he observed, as arousal settled between his legs. It was reading way too much into their flirtations to assume that she wanted to go any further than helping him with a stiff back.

His libido skipped ahead without his consent, however, and conjured a picture of her in the shower with him, washing his back, sliding her hands over his hips and pressing her sudsy, slick breasts into him as she reached downwards and took him in her hand.

With a grunt, Jack tried to remind himself that he was a gentleman and that fantasising about his vacation partner while on vacation with her was a very ungentlemanly thing to do. Flicking the water to cold, he stood under the spray and tried to recall all the NHL teams and their home cities. He could not allow his mind to wander on the subject of ... her ... if he got two-thirds of the way through the roster before it was safe to turn off the water.

As he dried off, Jack turned his mind to Sam’s reaction upon seeing the bedroom decked out for a tete-a-tete. What kind of dull-witted shrub had her ex-fiancé been to overdo romantic if she didn’t want it? It was pretty obvious that Sam wasn’t a flowers and jewellery kind of person. She’d be more into hikes and picnics and I brought you this book cause I thought you’d like it and I know your day was shitty so I got ice cream on the way home. Intimate, I care about you stuff, not big, posturing performances.

Sara, he suddenly realised, had been like that, too. Over the years he’d learnt to nurture her in private and stand behind her in public. She hadn’t wanted him all over her, except in the bedroom. Then she’d wanted him everywhere.

The idea that Sam might be like that, too, brought out a smile and filled his chest with a warmth that had been missing for a long time. Casting his mind forward to dinner, Jack had a sudden suspicion. Before waking Sam, he needed to make a call.

 

* * *

 

Rocking the hammock, Jack quietly said Sam’s name. When repeating it louder had no effect, he reached for her book, careful to keep her place, and brushed her hand with the knuckles of his empty one.

“Sam,” Jack repeated and was rewarded with a sleepy, confused look that made him want to cup her cheek and kiss her all the way awake.

“Hey.” Blinking, she then roamed his face with her eyes before moving her hand from underneath his touch. “Has it been an hour?” She asked as she rubbed at her forehead.

Jack moved his hand to grasp the edge of the hammock. “A little longer. I took a shower, so the bathroom’s all yours when you’re ready.”

“What’s that smell?” She asked, stretching out to her full length before pulling herself upright and swinging her legs over the hammock’s side.

He grimaced a bit, regretting his choice. “Sandalwood. There was a basket of things in the bathroom.”

“Mmm. I like it,” Sam told him and then stiffened as replaying her words brought her more awake. “I mean, I like sandalwood. As a scent. It smells good.”

Jack brushed his knuckles over hers on the hammock’s edge as he moved away. “I’m glad you like it,” he told her warmly, with just a hint of teasing in his voice. “I booked us a table for 5.30, so you’ve got about an hour.”

While Sam cleared her head in the shower, Jack searched the living room for a bookmark, settling on the card from the gift basket and sliding it into her paperback. He fetched his own book and, because it was the best spot to sit, he told himself, settled in the hammock. He sat, rather than lying, legs hanging over the side, the far edge pulled up and supporting his head. It was still warm from Sam’s body and smelled of her sun cream. For a while, Jack just rocked, eyes wandering over the water, the islands in the distance and the boats moving between them.

 

* * *

 

After thanking the waiter for showing them to their seats, Sam looked over at Jack and chuckled. “I half expected there to be candles on the table and a violinist standing by.”

“Hmm,” Jack replied, lips pressed together, eyes dancing as he pretended to read the menu.

Her forehead creased as she grew suspicious and Jack kept his gaze lowered. “What did you do?”

“I don’t know about the violinist, but I asked that they didn’t go to any extra trouble with the table.”

“You idiot,” Sam declared.

“What?” Jack wondered as his gaze leapt from the menu to Sam’s face.

“Why hide that? That was very ... thoughtful of you.”

Jack’s shoulders relaxed and his face eased into a smile. “So I did ok?”

“You did fine,” Sam insisted, “Thank you.”

“Just don’t be mad at me if there’s a violinist. I forgot to tell them to cancel any wandering minstrels.”

“I wouldn’t be surprised if a plate juggler turned up at this point, or maybe a mariachi band.”

Jack shook his head, “I don’t think they have mariachi in Vanuatu. Belly dancing, perhaps?”

Sam’s giggling became audible and she covered her mouth trying to smother it. Jack decided that making her smile was his mission for the rest of the night.

He leaned across the table and said in a low voice, “A couple of those sarongs and some jangling jewellery and I could belly dance for you.”

The giggling grew worse, Sam’s face reddening, her hand over her mouth and her eyes begging him for mercy. Jack waggled his eyebrows at her and she was subsumed with laughter. A waiter suddenly appeared at their table, looking concerned.

“Some water, please,” Jack asked and the waiter quickly left to fulfil his request, probably concerned that Sam was choking. “Sam,” he hissed at her, barely able to keep from laughing himself, “You’re scaring the wait staff.”

Sam shook her head at him, turning away to gulp down air and get herself under control. As the waiter came back with their water, Sam nodded her thanks and sipped slowly from the glass. Finally, she was able to breathe properly again and turned back to the table.

“That was mean,” she grinned, “I’m never going to be able to unsee you belly dancing.”

“Hey, I know all kinds of moves, I have to teach the eighth graders to dance, after all.”

“You owe me a dance, then,” Sam told him, “But before we get to that, we should eat.”

“Oh boy. Be careful what you wish for,” Jack replied, reading the menu properly for the first time. There was a wide choice of local seafood as well as steak. They took their time deciding and then finally ordered.

Each dish had them oohing and aahing, both at the presentation and the flavours. By the second course, they had moved from swapping bites of their dishes to eating half and swapping plates.

Jack watched Sam throughout the meal, unable to look at anything else. When he tried to find something else to focus on, he would fixate on Sam’s fingers, watching them on the stem of her wine glass or drawing idle patterns on the table cloth. And then she would laugh and he found himself having to look up to see her face and marvel again at the way she smiled with her whole body.

After dessert, which was incredible, they lingered over coffee and Jack hoped it was because Sam didn’t want the night to end. It might have been because she was nervous about sharing a bed and was trying to delay, but he didn’t think so. She knew, he thought, that he couldn’t tear his eyes away from her and maybe once or twice she had seemed to reach for his hand before pulling away.

Finally, they rose from the table and found themselves idling outside the restaurant, night having fallen.

Feeling like he was back in high school, Jack took a breath and made a suggestion. “You were pretty tired last night, so maybe you missed it, but the lights of Port Vila on the water looked pretty spectacular.”

“No,” Sam agreed, “I don’t remember. I think I was looking at my feet, trying not to fall over from exhaustion.”

“Want to walk over to the jetty and take a look, then?” His heart was beating ridiculously fast and he was finding it hard to breathe. Once he was out of his teens, Jack had thought this kind of nervousness had been behind him.

“Good idea. I’ll head that way and take a look,” Sam turned and began to walk away from him and got ten paces and stopped, looking back. “Oh, sorry. Did you mean we both should go?” She was laughing, again, and then smiling at him, holding out her hand.

Jack hurried to catch up, taking her hand, winding his fingers with hers.

“I was teasing,” she told him, suddenly uncertain.

Rubbing his thumb over her hand, Jack reassured her. “I got that, once my heart got over the initial shock.”

“Sorry,” Sam turned to look at him as they walked, biting her lower lip.

He bumped her shoulder, “Now I’m teasing.”

“Oh, ok.” Her relief was palpable and that reaction gave Jack a decent hope that maybe she was as anxious for him to like her as he was for her to like him.

Their silence as they walked was a stark contrast to the easy conversation over dinner. Instead, the touches they exchanged did the talking for them. Jack kept finding his thumb stroking over the smooth skin of her hand, a thrill running through him when Sam squeezed his fingers in response. Drawing near to the jetty, Sam walked closer to him, her other hand resting on his forearm, perhaps for support after her wobbly journey of the night before.

About half way along, they stopped and leaned on the jetty railing, taking in the twinkling across the water and the movement of the navigation lights on the boats out on the bay.

“It’s a different world here,” Sam remarked. “I don’t know if I could think of anywhere so completely opposite to Colorado.”

Placing an arm around her shoulders, Jack murmured soft agreement. “I was thinking ...”

Sam leaned into Jack’s side, enjoying the scent of him. “Thinking what?”

“I’ve never seen a volcano, before. There’s one here, Mt Yasur, where you can walk right up to the rim and watch the lava erupt.”

“That’s about as opposite to Colorado as you can get,” Sam agreed.

“Come with me?” Jack asked, tentatively negotiating through whatever it was they were developing.

“Of course! No way would I miss out on seeing an erupting volcano. It would make a pretty interesting set of lessons for next year,” she mused.

Sam felt his low laughter where their sides touched and then Jack’s fingers caressed her shoulder. She liked this, liked being wanted, liked being touched.

As they turned back towards the villa, hand in hand again, Sam told herself that there was no harm in liking Jack. Not here, in Vanuatu, literally half a world away from Colorado. The magic of being in a foreign place was weaving a spell on them and she was more and more inclined to fall under that spell and give in to a vacation fling.


	8. Chapter 8

_The early morning light reflected off the water, making dancing patterns on the ceiling. Sam smiled to herself, a cool breeze stirring the curtains and brushing over her skin. Warm fingers brushed over her shoulder, sweeping stray strands of hair from from her skin and then trailing down her arm. The fingers slid to her waist, finding the edge of her cami top, exploring the skin beneath it, his long fingers stroking across her belly and making her insides dance with anticipation._

_She’d missed this, missed these quiet moments of intimacy, the touch of knowing fingers and her body’s growing response. Lips brushed over her shoulder, pressing feather light kisses all the way to the nape of her neck where he buried his nose in her hair and hummed against her spine. Her body awoke to arousal so suddenly that she gasped as her insides tightened, heat coalescing between her legs, the want, the need for him stealing her breath away._

_He pressed his hips against her, showing her that his want was just as strong, just as pronounced and she rolled her hips against him in acknowledgement. Those fingers made a determined path up her torso brushing over her skin until they found a hardening nipple, circling and then pinching and rolling the sensitive tip of her breast. Kisses on her neck became purposeful, his lips caressing, nibbling in concert with his fingers until she moaned her need aloud._

_With a knowing touch, his fingers released her, skimming down her side and working their way under the elastic waist of her pyjama boxers, heading straight for her centre. She moved for him, hooking her ankle over his calf, opening the way for his fingers to delve into her heat._

_“So wet, Samantha. Were you dreaming?” He kisses her ear lobe as his fingers open her and explore, trailing across her entrance, skimming back up to her clit but never settling on one stimulation strategy. He chuckled as she tried to chase his touch, lips pressing against her skin as he circled her entrance. “This what you want?” He asked, fingers stroking harder, making her toes curl as she leaned into his touch._

_“Yes,” she whispered, her voice tight with need for this, for him, for the simple, primal feeling of him inside her, stroking her until she could fly free while calling his name._

_“Then you shall have,” and he was sliding two fingers inside her, teeth scraping over her neck and he stroked and pressed and teased with his long, strong fingers. When she moaned he stroked harder, pressing the pad of his thumb to her clit, her own movement in response to his fingers rubbing her against him delightfully, calling the white hot heat from inside her and gathering it until she knew it was going to send her flying._

_“Fly for me,” he murmured, lips pressed against the skin below her ear. “Fly, Samantha.” His rhythm was perfect, and she knew she was oh so delightfully close._

_“Jack.” His name leapt from her lips as her mind flew free from her body and she was shuddering under his fingers, her consciousness afloat in a pure, white light._

 

* * *

 

The dream orgasm shook her awake and her eyes flew open as she rode out the last shudders of her hips. Holding her breath, Sam listened to the night sounds, searching for Jack’s breathing on the other side of the bed. Had she woken him? Had she cried out in her sleep? Did he know that the wetness between her legs was because she had just dreamed of him?

Breathing slowing, Sam let her body relax. Jack was still asleep, it seemed, his breathing regular behind her. Once she was sure that she was the only one awake, she slipped out of bed and padded out to the balcony. The pre-dawn breeze was cool, like the wind in her dream. As the memories came back to her, the details still clear, she flushed. She couldn’t go back to sleep beside him after that. She was debating hammock versus couch to herself when the memory of his scent had her flushing all over again.

And then he was there, standing beside her at the railing, not speaking, just being, another traveller in the night. Sam found herself wondering if this was another dream when he stepped closer, close enough for her to feel the heat of his body. Closing her eyes, she let her senses feel him, breathing his scent deep into her lungs. The fingers that brushed her hair from her shoulder seemed inevitable, as did the way he settled his palm over her spine, his thumb brushing the side of neck.

The arousal that had woken her was still there, its embers burning below the surface. The sigh that escaped her lips came from her dream but was heard in her reality. Jack pressed his lips to the apex of her shoulder, his touch soft and light and then, almost painfully, his warmth was gone and he was walking away from her.

“Jack,” she called after him, the name leaving her mouth before she had a chance to work out what she wanted from him. He turned back to her and then he was there, hand cupping her cheek, his lips pressed to hers and he was seeking, asking for the warmth of her mouth and she opened to him gladly. Confident, knowing, his tongue sought out hers and they stood there until all their air was consumed, exploring, giving, taking until the embers within her were burning hot with flame.

Chests heaving with the need for air, Jack slid his hand from her cheek, rested a kiss to her forehead. He murmured, “I’m sorry,” against her skin and then turned and left her standing on the balcony, the warmth of his hand on her cheek, the moisture of his mouth still on her lips. She stood frozen, stunned until it occurred to her to follow him, but he wasn’t waiting for her in bed. From the bedroom doorway she could hear the shower running and tried not to let her body’s disappointment snuff out the embers within.

She’d embarrassed him, roused him into something he didn’t want. Back on the balcony she climbed into the hammock and curled up, watching the sky grow light with the coming day. Black had turned to blue when her eyelids slid closed and she slept, rocking slowly in the breeze.


	9. Chapter 9

For the second time in 24 hours, Jack stood under a cold shower trying to wash away his arousal. Part of him just wanted to take himself in hand and be done with it. Hockey teams certainly weren’t going to do it this time, not when he’d woken rock hard and groaning.

If he’d just gone straight for the bathroom. But he’d seen her standing outside and he’d wanted to kiss her, taste her skin, fall to his knees and taste her sex ...

Not helping, not helping ... god, but she had tasted so good and the way she’d kissed him back ...

She’d kissed him back. And then he’d left her standing there without a word of explanation. Sam was right, he was an idiot.

At least that thought cooled his ardour. A few more minutes and it was safe to turn off the water and towel his skin dry. Pulling his shorts and shirt back on, he hoped against hope to find her awake. When Sam wasn’t in bed, his heart skipped, but then she wasn’t in the living room either.

When he finally found Sam, she was asleep, curled up in the hammock. There was just enough light to make out her features. He reached for her, stroking the hair back from her face, brushing his fingertips along the curve of her cheek.

With a sigh, her eyes opened and he froze, caught mid caress.

“Sam, I ...” But he didn’t know what to say.

She turned her face into his palm and kissed it, reaching her hand up to cover his.

The tingle from her touch ran up his arm and he shivered. “I was an idiot,” Jack told her.

Sam struggled to sit up and he held the hammock steady while she swung her legs over the side.

“Come here,” she asked him, opening her legs so he could fit between them and pulling him down to her lips.

This kiss was better than the last, less urgent but deeper, somehow. He was more awake and Sam was languid, mussed from sleep and he savoured her, his hands finding her shoulders, skimming across her warm skin until they cupped her neck. Sam’s hands were in his hair, digging into his damp scalp, pulling him closer. His desire to be with her, in her snapped back with a vengeance and he let go of her neck to cup her ass and pull her against him.

Hardening again, his cock pressed into Sam’s heat and she moaned into his mouth, the thin fabric between them leaving no question as to what they both wanted. Jack broke away, laying light kisses along her jaw to her ear.

“Come back to bed?” He asked, tongue flicking at her earlobe. Her throaty laugh was gasoline on his fire and he growled in response, putting his teeth to her neck, sucking on her skin. Sam tasted so good and he wanted to put his mouth everywhere on her and lick and tease until she begged him to take her over the edge.

“Jack,” her voice was soft, underlaid with amusement. “If you want me to come to bed ...”

“I should let you get up?” His lips were over hers and then he stepped back and the sharp desire Sam saw there made her shudder. Jack helped her ease out of the hammock, his hands still on her, unwilling to let her go now that he knew Sam wanted his touch.

Sam turned in the circle of his arms and he pulled her body against his, pressing her back into his chest as he swept her braid from her neck and kissed the sensitive skin beneath.

“Or we could,” she gasped as his hand on her belly found the hem of her cami and Jack splayed his long fingers against her bare stomach. “We could do this right here.”

His hips surged at the idea, Jack pressed his erection against her and groaned, holding himself tight there while his forehead leaned on the crown of her head. “No. No,” he agreed. “Bed. I want to see you, watch you. Sam, I want you so much.” Then he whimpered, the need so unexpectedly strong that it brought him to the edge of hurting.

“Hey,” she captured his hand and turned again, putting distance between them, pulling him along. “Come. Lie down,” she told him, turning him so his back was to the bed and pressing a hand to his chest until he moved up on to it. “Wait for me,” and she turned towards the bathroom and disappeared.

Jack took a moment to close his eyes, breathing in through his nose and out through his mouth. He felt close to losing control, to being consumed by want, and it was making his heart race. This wasn’t who he wanted to be, not the first time with Sam, not without knowing her better, knowing how to please her, knowing if she wanted hard and fast from him.

The mattress dipped and he opened his eyes as Sam moved towards him on her knees, tossing a handful of crinkling packets on to the nightstand, keeping one between her fingers. Jack pushed up on his elbows.

“You’re gorgeous,” Sam told him, fingers reaching out for his cheek.

“Sam,” he breathed heavily, feeling vulnerable in the sight of her grip on rational thought. She had remembered to get condoms when all he’d been able to think of was tasting her and pushing her onto the bed and making her cry out his name. “I’m so wound up. I don’t know why.”

“I do,” she told him, both smug and shy in a way that made his insides somersault. She pulled her cami over her head and shimmied out of her boxer shorts, rendering him speechless as she reached for his boxers, sliding them down after holding his erection out of the way. As she straddled his thighs, she tore the condom wrapper open with her teeth, her other hand holding him, thumb stroking at the vein that stood out against his hard shaft.

As Sam rolled the condom on, Jack shuddered, eyes closing for a brief moment.

“I was dreaming, your hands were on me, stroking my clit, your fingers inside me until I came,” she shared.

Jack sucked in his breath, daring not to breathe as she rose to her knees again and brought her body over his sheathed cock.

“And you were,” Sam licked her lips and swallowed, “You were dreaming, too. Ready?” She asked and when he put his hands on her hips in response she began to slowly take him inside her. Hot and slick, she easily slid over him, dragging it out, her eyes fixed on his. When she had enveloped him completely, she placed her hands against his chest.

“What were you dreaming, Jack?” Her voice was rich with arousal and when he moved his hands from her hips to her ass, she gasped.

“You,” Jack spoke, surprised to find his voice shaking. “Touching me, in the shower. _Oh fuck_ ,” he swore as she teetered above him and then sank down hard and fast. A detached part of him found it odd that he was confessing his fantasies to her to very first time they were together. Another part of him got a thrill from her daring.

“How was I touching you?” Her hands were braced on his chest, as she rose up and taking him in fast and deep each time she fell down on him.

“You stroked me and then,” he dragged a breath in as she took him in again and his hands dig into her flesh. “ _Saaaam_ ... then you were sucking me ... in your mouth and then I ... I woke up.”

Leaning forward, she stilled, her forehead pressed to his, her voice dropping to a whisper. “And then you kissed me and ran. Cold shower?” Sam wondered.

“Yes,” Jack replied. “Second one for today.”

She laughed, brushing her nose affectionately against his and put her mouth to his. “Kiss me again,” she asked, her words caressing his lips

Parting his lips the kiss was wild, tongues clashing, teeth scraping, his hands pulling her hips tight against him as he thrust into her, despite his limited range of motion. Sam’s hands were under his shirt, her nails raking down his sides making him whimper, again.

“Come for me,” she whispered, pulling away, her face above his, braced on her elbows, rocking against him.

“But you ...” he tried to take back enough control to hold out for her.

“You’ve made me come once already,” Sam told him, her eyes fixed on his. “Just the idea of you,” she told him, moving her hips up a little and then sliding back down.

His hips were going to follow hers, no matter what his mind wanted and so Jack matched her rhythm. They quickly came into sync and, despite having confessed that she’d orgasmed already, Jack saw that Sam was nearly as far along as he was.

When her eyes lost focus, he pulled her hard against him and let his orgasm take him, begging her to follow him over the edge. “Come with me, Sam. Come, Sam, come ...”

Jack thought that maybe she had. When his mind began to process coherent thought again, Sam was certainly as boneless over him as he was.

Clumsily, he moved his hands, one settling in the small of her back, fingers brushing against her, luxuriating in the feel of her smooth, soft skin. The other found her hair, tangling in her braid and then stilling, nearly all his energy spent.

“Dear god,” Sam whispered against his shoulder. “I think you killed me.”

“Not dead,” Jack promised her. “Though we might be in heaven.”

Her body rocked with laughter as she groaned at him. “That was possibly the corniest pillow talk ever.”

The smile on his face was a mile wide as he tightened his arms around her, kissing awkwardly at her hair. “I think I have an ear for it.”

Sam groaned again and nipped at his skin.

“Aw, shucks,” he muttered, laughter overcoming him too and when she groaned for a third time, he flipped her, trapping her legs with his, kissing and nipping at the curve of her neck. When Sam’s groans became moans, he pressed his lips to her skin and blew a raspberry against her, collapsing onto the bed and pulling her into him as she shrieked and laughed in his arms.

Brushing his lips over her hair, Jack was overwhelmed by how happy Sam’s laughter made him feel. “You’re so beautiful,” he told her.

Sam curled into him, possessive, with an arm over his chest and knee on his hip. “So are you.” Her murmur was sleepy and, given their interrupted night, Jack was content to let them both slip into oblivion. 


	10. Chapter 10

Sam awoke feeling more relaxed than she had in months. Everything felt incredible - the softness of the mattress, the cool breeze from the ocean and the warmth of the man sleeping beside her.

While he still slept, she looked her fill of his naked body. Sometime in the last few hours Jack had removed his shirt and left himself exposed for her eyes to feast on. The set of his shoulders, his defined arms and calves were delicious and she wanted to stroke his chest and stomach all day long. But it was his rear assets that held her captivated. Her ex was fit, he was a cop after all, but he had nothing on Jack’s ass. Firm and tight, she wanted to grab a hold of those curves and never let go.

Turned away from her, she had the perfect view and, despite telling herself to let Jack sleep, Sam just had to touch him. Reaching, she dragged her nails up the back of his thigh, curving her path to run over the swell of his buttocks. Smoothing her hand over the red marks she’d left on him, she moved close enough to kiss along the back of his shoulder.

Without warning, his hand captured hers and Sam squeaked in surprise.

Voice rough from sleep, Jack was clearly amused. “Think I could sleep through a beautiful woman fondling my ass?”

Nuzzling at his neck, Sam replied, “It’s such a lovely ass. As asses go, it’s a masterpiece. Someone should frame it and stick it on the wall of a museum.” Removing her hand from his, she caressed the target of her adulation letting her fingers drag where his thighs met, stretching his cheeks slightly apart before her hand continued to the small of his back.

Jack let his hand cross over hers, resting his palm on her thigh, fingers curling into her flesh. “I would’ve thought that most people would be praising a person’s frontal resources rather than their ass-ets.”

Beginning to nip at his skin, Sam let her fingers curl and rubbed the base of his spine with her knuckles, making him groan. “Don’t get me wrong, the front view is admirable, but the rear angle is the winner.”

Pulling on her thigh, he urged her leg up and over his. Sam wrapped her leg over him, heel resting on his shin, pressing her body tightly up behind his. With her hand on Jack’s chest, she pulled him into her breasts.

Jack sighed with contentment. “I could get used to this.” The words were out of his mouth before he could think to stop them. They’d had no discussion about what _this_ was - a fling, friends with benefits, dating?

Feeling him tense, Sam soothed him with fingers stroking his chest hair. “Been a while, huh?”

“Yeah,” he breathed out, relaxing again. “A very long while. Not since Sara left me, a while.”

Sam tucked her nose into the curve of his shoulder. “Me too.” Her fingers continuing to stroke at his chest, she finally said, “I think I miss the touching the most.”

Jack closed his eyes, drinking in her warmth, her honesty. “Me too. Sleeping alone ...”

“Sucks,” Sam agreed.

“Is this ok, while we’re here? Sharing a bed?” Jack needed to know they were alright, even if the way she had willingly wrapped herself over him should have told him her answer.

“Yeah,” she answered, trying for casual. “This is definitely ok.”

“Ok,” Jack repeated back.

“You know what else is ok?” Sam asked.

“What?”

She was kissing along his shoulder again. “The sex. That was pretty ok, too.”

“Uh oh,” Jack murmured.

Now it was her turn to ask, “What?”

“I need a do-over if ‘ok’ is the grade you’re giving me for sex.”

“A do-over could be arranged ...” Sam did her best to sound unconvinced that he could improve his score. “There might be a price, however.”

“I’m negotiable on the payment options, but I feel that I need a chance to prove myself. Earlier, I was ... rushed.” He’d been trying for funny, but a little truth had seeped out, too.

“Jack,” Sam admonished. “Are you apologising?”

That was the thing about Sam. She had slipped so quickly under his walls that he hadn’t even noticed until now. “Perhaps it wasn’t quite how I imagined seducing you.”

Circling her fingers over his chest, slowly travelling lower, Sam thought carefully about how to respond. “It was a little impromptu, but still ... you were needing it so bad and knowing that the thought of me had you all wild and out of control ...” Sam lowered her voice, lips brushing his ear, “It’s making me wet all over again.”

Jack’s hips twitched, his cock growing harder, fingers tensing against her thigh.

“To have the power to make you so wanton, to turn you on so hard,” Sam’s fingers brushed over the base of his penis, “When you were already so gone with lust for me ... I would have been happy watching you stroke yourself and I still would’ve come.” Her hand encircled him, holding him lightly, her fingers nothing but a light stimulation letting her words do the work of getting him hard.

With a moan of surrender, Jack thrust into her hand.

“Noted,” Sam remarked. “Sometime soon you’ll stroke your cock for me and I’ll watch. Watch you pump into your hand, see you strain and then spill your hot semen for me.”

“Sam,” Jack’s voice was strained, “Please.”

“What do you want?” Releasing his weeping cock, she cupped his balls rolling them softly and then scraping his skin with her nails.

“You. Sam, I want ...” Jack stopped, no idea where to begin with Sam. Her dirty talk, the ease with which she teased him, aroused him. Knowing what was going on in her head was intimidating. He felt bumbling and inexperienced. A ridiculous thought, given that he had ten years and a marriage on her.

“Jack? Where’d you go?” Sam’s voice was gentle, her fingers trailing along the underside of his cock, touch comforting.

“It’s been a long time ...” He wanted to explain, she deserved at least to know why this was tripping him up.

Tucking her nose against his neck, Sam cupped him, her hand stilling, cradling his erection. “A long time since?”

“A long time since I’ve been with someone new. Maybe,” he paused to work it out, “14, 15 years? I was in my twenties, then. You’re ... you’re very ... confident.”

“Ah,” and Sam thought that maybe she understood. “I want you, Jack. Your body, yes, but I like your humour, I like the way you look at me, touch me. I like that you want to take care of me but that you respect me. I want _you_ and _all_ of you turns me on.”

He was silent, wanting to trust in her words but afraid to.

“Here, roll over,” she told him. When he did, he met her eyes and the vulnerability Sam saw made her heart skip a beat. “Kiss me.” Gently, she cupped his cheek and let him come to her.

His kiss was tentative, lips brushing hers. When he pressed in more firmly, Sam let her lips part, a passive invitation. Jack flicked his tongue against them and she parted more, let him explore, let him find her tongue and rouse it, then she echoed his motions. Slowly, she moved her hand, fingers in his hair, gently scraping at his scalp with her fingernails. He parted from her, but then kissed her once, twice more, lips pressed to hers.

Jack met her eyes again and he seemed steadier.

“Again,” Sam asked.

As his lips touched hers again, she opened immediately to him, her tongue more active, seeking his and stroking, then drawing back, letting him lead. Each of her movements was a suggestion, an invitation to try a bit more.

As Jack’s confidence returned, Sam reached for the hand that was resting across her waist and dragged his fingers upwards to her breast. She held him there for a moment and then he was grasping her, rubbing his thumb over her nipple, rolling it as it grew firmer until she moaned in his mouth.

Jack shifted his mouth, kissing along her jaw, coming to her neck. A flash from last night reminded him to nip at her skin and then suck slowly, making repeated marks down to her collarbone. Sam panted under his mouth, his fingers tugging and teasing her tight peak, almost bruising and then suddenly his lips were around her, tongue soothing her nub and she cried out, back arching.

He tried his teeth on her and she moaned, thighs restlessly rubbing together as she sought more stimulation. Pressing his lips into her to hide his smile, Jack moved to her other breast, drawing the nipple up taut with licks and sucks and bites, flicking at her other while Sam crushed his mouth to her chest, fingers scraping in his hair.

“Jack,” and the breathless way Sam said his name made his spine tingle all the way to his groin. Kissing between her breasts, he mapped a line to her navel and circled it with his tongue. If her squirms and pants were any indication, Sam was close to the point where need would be all she knew.

Jack placed his arm firmly across her thighs, holding her to the bed as he trailed kisses lower, until he could brush his nose over her curls and breathe in her scent.

“Yes, yes, please.” Sam writhed with anticipation

Rising, Jack moved, nudging her legs apart until he could lie between them, aware of her eyes on him as he settled on the mattress.

“Wait,” Sam told him, sliding up the bed, pulling pillows behind her so that she lay propped up. The action left her knees bent, her sex open to him and the way she was already swollen and wet made him eager to dive in.

“Watch me, Sam,” he whispered, kissing her thigh as he crept towards her. “Watch me lick you, eat you. Dear god, drown in you.” His eyes turned to her, he trailed his lips along her opposite thigh. The smell of her arousal was intense and Jack formed his tongue to a point and traced the outer line of her lips up and then down the other side.

His touch brought all the heat within her to a single, burning point just behind her clit. She wrestled with her hips to keep them from moving, then Jack wrapped one hand around her thigh, pressing her down into the bed.

Resuming his attentions, Jack trailed his tongue through her wetness and moaned involuntarily at the richness of her arousal. Her answering gasp made him smile and he delved deeper, tracing the shape of her, tonguing her clit and then her entrance, back and forth.

When Sam moaned, deep and hearty, he pressed his tongue over her clit and looked up at her, undulating the muscle against her while taking in the sights above. One of her hands was on her breast, rubbing and tugging at her nipple, the other reached for his hand on her hip, gripping his fingers. Sam’s eyes fixed on his and he saw her unmasked, asking and begging him, needing him to complete her.

Setting his lips around her, Jack began to suck her clit, bringing his other hand in to play, fingering her perineum, sliding higher until he could tease her entrance, swirling, dipping in just his first finger joint and sliding back out.

“Tease,” Sam choked out. “Fucking tease. Give me your fingers,” She whined.

With a growl that vibrated through her flesh, Jack pushed two fingers inside her, stroking, feeling, trying to find a target for his fingertips. She shuddered, the grip on her hip the only thing keeping her down and Jack curled his fingers into her again and this time she keened. Two fingers became three and, now confident she was going over the edge, Jack gave her everything he had until she cried out his name and shuddered against him.

Jack slowed, keeping up the movement of his fingers and mouth until Sam crumpled back into the pillows, the numbing grip she had on his fingers at her hip easing.

He tried to leave her slowly, but Sam bemoaned the loss of him in her, on her, even though she reached to bring him to her mouth. The kiss was long and heated and felt like Sam wanted to crawl inside him.

She was right, to have someone so completely wanton and in your power was a very heady aphrodisiac.


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey all! Thanks for your patience I waiting for an update. I have a pretty good idea of the second half of this story, so I should be updating every few days.
> 
> Thanks! - SH

“I just need a minute,” Sam panted, falling back into the pillows. Jack kissed the curve of her shoulder and lay his head down beside her.

“You can have all the time you need,” he smiled, twining his fingers with hers where they rested, limp, on her hip. The satisfaction emanating from her warmed him. “We could break for breakfast, if you want.”

“I’m not that kind of hungry. Not yet.” Twisting, Sam moved until she could rest her cheek against his hair. Eyes closed, she hummed with pleasure. “You are far better than you think, y’know.”

“I’ve picked up a thing or two over the years.”

Sam raised his hand, turning it this way and that, bringing it to her mouth and kissing his fingers. “I should have known that a jock would have amazing handling skills.” Then she placed her lips around Jack’s index finger, tasting herself on his skin.

“Ahh, I’m the best kind of jock: a secret nerd. I know my anatomy, too.” He had been slowly relaxing, but the way Sam was sucking his finger brought him sharply back to the moment.

Wriggling down so her head was level with his, Sam rolled towards Jack. “Anatomy, huh?” With her knuckles she brushed down his side, running over hip and erection before sliding her palm to centre of his chest. “I know my anatomy, too.” Pressing her lips to his, she dragged her nails over chest hairs, nipples and belly until she stroked her fingers through the curls at his base. With feathery touches, she teased, “Want to compare notes?”

In a smooth movement, Jack reached behind him and procured a condom, “Question number one, who gets to apply?”

“Your turn in just a moment,” and Jack grunted as her fingers encircled his shaft and dragged along his length to the tip, finishing with a swirl. Sam smiled triumphantly as she brought fingers to her mouth and tasted his precum. Jack forgot nearly everything as he watched.

“Sam ...” his voice was husky and low. “I lose my mind around you.”

Grasping, Sam pulled him in for a kiss, fingers tight against his neck. “Let’s see if you lose anything else,” she whispered.

Jack moaned in response and fumbled to open the wrapper and roll the condom on. Trailing nails lazily from her hip to her curls, Sam watched. When Jack’s eyes fell on the fingers brushing over her sex, she slid her fingers lower, parting her lips.

Kneeling between her legs, Jack took a moment to tease her entrance and clit with the head of his sheathed penis and then leaned forward, pressing in slowly. Sam purred his name, long and low, wrapping her legs around his thighs when he found her depth.

“Perfect,” she whispered, “So perfect.”

Making his arms comfortable, Jack’s hovered over Sam’s breasts, chest hairs brushing her nipples. Seeking out her mouth, he kissed and licked, tongue brushing hers in a slow rhythm echoed by his hips.

Drawing circles on his back with her nails, Sam felt her body slowly tighten, her arousal gathering in her abdomen, making her arch into Jack. With steady, relentless movements, he let the heat build between them until Sam felt the swelling rush tingle through her hips and legs. With a gasp, she thrust up, meeting Jack and throwing off his rhythm.

With her head tipped back, the cream flesh of Sam’s throat was exposed and Jack leaned in to kiss and nuzzle as he reestablished his pace.

“More,” Sam moaned. “I need more. Please.”

The words tickled against his lips and he smiled, nuzzling her ear. “You can have all of me,” Jack promised, teeth bared against her neck. He reached for the soft curve of her shoulder and bit down at the same time as he thrust harder into her. Sam whimpered and writhed, clutching at his skin and Jack sucked and thrust as hard as she would allow.

With a cry, Sam’s hips bucked and then she shuddered, clenching around him before the orgasm shook her over and over. The power with which she came undone had him following quickly after, emptying into her with a long moan, before he caught himself, elbows locked, forehead crashing into the pillows as he tried not to let his dead weight fall.

There were blissful, uncounted minutes of aftershocks and sighs and caresses as they both slowly came to. Sam coaxed him to relax onto her, wanting to feel his weight, and Jack sighed as he went completely limp.

With lips pressed to her neck, Jack murmured words of appellation, making Sam giggle and squirm. Dragging fingers through his hair, she turned, awkwardly kissing at his temple.

“Happy?” She asked.

“Very,” he murmured, reaching for the condom as he softened and slid out, falling half onto his side. With a slight grumble, he rolled out of bed and disposed of it before returning to Sam. “Easier cleanup, but I hate having to move so soon.”

“Come here, then,” Sam reached, pulling his face down to hers, kissing him thoroughly as he tucked into her. “Where were we?”

“Happy,” Jack nuzzled into her shoulder. “Thank you.”

“Mmm. I should be thanking you. Haven’t been done quite so thoroughly for a very long time.” Sam flexed what limbs she could, finding his free hand with her own, entangling fingers again.

“I mean, thank you for ... being ok with ... things.” His face was turned into her shoulder.

Sam paused before answering, then moved to brush her lips against his hair. “You trusted me. I don’t have proper words for how that makes me feel, but ...” she squeezed his fingers and added in a whisper, “Thank you.”

When she nudged at his cheek with her nose, Jack reflexively raised his face. Sam met him with a slow, burning kiss that sucked the breath from him and made him want to stay with her, here in Vanuatu, forever. 


	12. Chapter 12

They passed the day around the villa, ordering food when they were hungry, remaining mostly naked and seeking out skin whenever they could. Moments of intimacy were interspersed with reading and napping but they were always touching. Her toes tucked under his thigh on the couch, his fingers caressing the back of her calf. Her hand brushing the small of his back as they passed, his hip pressed into hers as they stood on the balcony, each wrapped in a sarong, and watched the afternoon light fade.

With oofs and elbow jabs and apologies, they found a way to share the hammock and dozed. Then Jack woke her with a hand cupping her breast and fingers stroking inside her until Sam arched in his arms and whimpered his name, her vibrations delicate, more tender, but just as satisfying. Afterwards, he petted her belly and kissed her hair and Sam cupped him, but went no further, both of them content.

In the bubble of intimacy they shared more about their lives before. Jack had met Sara when she was working as a lawyer for the minor league team he coached at the time.

“Attraction of opposites,” he told Sam. “She is brilliant at what she does and my work followed hers. The offer to move to Colorado was a big deal for her and she finally felt established. We were near her family and so it seemed like the right time to have kids. And so we had Charlie.” Jack sighed happily as he recalled memories of his son.

“I went back to full time teaching so that there were predictable hours for Charlie - Sara would often travel with the team or be away for work.”

During the long pause that followed, Jack reached out and got them rocking again. “I think that’s maybe where we began to grow apart. She was away a lot, our worlds weren’t shared the way they once were. I never wanted her to sacrifice what she was doing, but I let that grow into resentment.”

Sam brought his hand to her mouth and kissed his knuckles, then held his arm tight to her chest.

“I think that we both realised around the same time that we were happier apart than together.”

“When did she move to London?” Sam wondered, caressing his thigh.

“We were trying to decide who would live where when she was offered a job with the Premier League - that’s English football, soccer - to work on developing an international programme with the US and a bunch of other countries.” Jack swallowed and his next words were half whispered. “The money she was making, the chance to live in London, it seemed like the best choice for Charlie.”

“Does he like it there?”

Jack shifted a little, leaning his cheek against her hair. “Mostly. Y’know, he’s still a kid. There’s things he doesn’t like - like the distance between us, the lack of a pro hockey league, the school lunches.” They both laughed a little at the last one, “But he’s adapted pretty well. Sara is ... she’s a good mom and she does well. But I think being a single parent with a very busy job wasn’t quite like she expected. She sounds ... tired, when we talk.”

“I can imagine it must be pretty full on for her. Do you talk often?” When Jack hesitated, Sam squeezed his thigh. “I’m not the jealous type. She’s the mother of your child, you guys will be bound together, forever.”

He brushed his lips over her hair in the ghost of a kiss. “I just, uh ...” Jack stopped, deciding to leave that tangent for another time. “We talk every Saturday when we can. I spend an hour Skyping with Charlie and then Sara and I have a catchup, too. Parenting stuff mostly. But we’re getting to the point where we can talk about ourselves.”

“But you couldn’t at the beginning?”

That made Jack huff in amusement. “No. I was ... angry, for a long time. Caught up in the unfairness of it all. I, uh, saw a counsellor for a while and he helped me understand that I was grieving, in a way. This last year has been better. I learnt that being angry was just a waste of time and it ... coloured the moments I did have with Charlie and robbed us both of what we could get out of that.

“Charlie’s time with me last summer was great. We really reconnected. And then I spent a week in London over the holidays and that gave me a chance to find a way to talk with Sara. Just in time, too.”

Sam repositioned with a wriggle, bringing circulation back to her hip. The sun had set and she should be feeling cold, but the combination of the hammock, Jack and the climate in Vanuatu was nearly perfect. “Why just in time?”

Jack trailed lazy fingers between her breasts. “Sara started seeing someone in February. I would have taken it differently, last year, but now, I’m able to be happy for her and a little for Charlie, too. There is a new adult around who he might be able to depend on, in the future. Sara has no family over there, her family and I all live in Colorado.”

“Has she thought about coming back?” Sam tried to keep her question neutral, she had no claim on Jack or his personal life, not yet. Maybe never.

“Not that she’s mentioned to me,” Jack answered, a sadness colouring his reply. “And then, since Phillip came on the scene, I guess I’ve assumed that means she doesn’t want to. And I don’t want to make things awkward again by asking. We’ve sold the house, things have settled down, so I keep my hopes to myself.”

Sam had thought she read the longing in his voice right. “You want to be with him.”

“Of course,” Jack answered immediately, squeezing her tightly in his embrace, drawing comfort.

“I know,” she told him, words and touch gentle, “It’s not hard to tell.”

It was strange to him how Sam’s acknowledgement of Jack’s dedication to Charlie made him feel warm and understood. Closing his eyes, Jack wondered for the second time that day whether there might be more for him and Sam than two weeks in Vanuatu.

He found himself trying to express the way she made him feel, his hands wandering, smoothing over Sam’s body, slightly cool in the night air. Fingers dragging over her silky skin raised goosebumps and then he found her nipples were already puckered and erect. Fingers lingering, he stroked and twisted and pinched until she was moaning involuntarily, hips squirming.

“You make the best noises, Sam. I don’t ever want to stop, I want to make you come over and over.” Jack moved his shoulder, letting her fall toward him and trailed kisses up her neck and jaw, sucking at the skin below her ear, then roughing it with his tongue. The hum of want that came from her was echoed in the restless pressing of her thighs, trying to give more stimulation to her lips and clit.

“I think I’m becoming addicted to you, to making you wet, making you explode. If I just slipped my fingers between your thighs, you’d be wet. How wet are you, Samantha?” Squeezing a nipple between his fingers, he elongated it with a slow pull that had her gasping.

“So wet, Jack, I’m soaking, I can feel it all over my thighs.” The slickness was spreading as she moved, so much that she worried there would be a noticeable wet spot when she finally left the hammock.

Dragging his tongue to her ear lobe, Jack sucked it between his lips, suddenly letting her nipple go. Sam’s surprised grunt made him moan, but he kept his lips busy at her ear while reaching for her other nipple and stretching it with a twist.

Sam arched her back as he dragged at her chest, crying out and then collapsing with a whimper as he set her free. “Jack, please.” Turning her head, she sought out his mouth, kissing hungrily when he gave her his lips. She nipped and nibbled and then thrust her tongue against his, straining and pushing herself into his hands and mouth.

With dragging fingernails, Jack ran over her belly and sides, sometimes fast, nearly tickling, and then slow, heavy, leaving red lines behind. He trailed between her breasts, then circled her outer one, spiralling upwards to her nipple. Reaching the summit, he laid his palm over the areola, circling and pressing firmly into her over sensitive flesh.

A cry of aching want slipped from Sam’s mouth as she arched back, pressing into Jack’s hand. His lips were at her ear as he massaged and teased, dragging his hand back and forth, and then squeezing and palpitating, filling her body with sensations and heat.

“That’s it, Sam, come for me with just my hands on your breast. Teasing and pinching and making you so hot and horny. You’re so beautiful, so sexy, hearing you makes me rock hard. Come for me. Come. Come hard!”

Roughening her nipple with the pad of his thumb, timing to match the last of his words, Jack put his lips to Sam’s neck. He sucked firmly on her skin, hand still moving, massaging, as the ripples flowed out from her sex, cresting, making her moan and squirm and then depositing her back in his embrace. His beautiful partner was panting, shivering with aftershocks, floating on the buzz of the novel sensations, so different from a penetrative orgasm.

The hammock slowed, rocking more gently and Jack let his arms wrap Sam, his ankle over her calf. In time with the sway, he nuzzled her skin. “So good, Sam. You sound so hot. I love the sounds you make.”

Sam gave a satiated purr and let herself float a while longer, blissfully snug in Jack’s embrace. 


End file.
